I gulp, my eyes widening. There’s nothing more dangerous than someone who isn’t all there and he definitely isn’t. He’s the frantic kind of crazy.
Footsteps echo behind me, followed by a scream before skin hitting skin rings out in the sparse space.
I try to turn but I’m so tightly bound that I can barely move an inch.
“Yay!” Dean pulls back from me and moves backward before clapping his hands and tapping the chair opposite me. “Bring her into the circle.” He chuckles at himself while I wait, my mind spinning at what’s going on here, and when I look up, I see Kim, blood dripping from her lip. Her gaze connects with mine and her eyes widen.
“No! Let her go, you fucking psycho!”
“Kim,” I whisper, but she doesn’t answer me as she turns to the man holding her.
“You’re not gonna walk out of here alive. He’ll make you suffer for this.”
“Quiet,” a voice commands, one that has my body shuddering and my head spinning.
“Quite the family reunion, eh?” Dean says, pulling Kim into the seat and tying her to it just like I am.
I want to look at her, to silently ask her what’s going on, but I can’t move my gaze from the evil man who stands to the side, looking down at me.
I flinch when his hand comes out and try to back away even though I have nowhere to go.
“I missed you,” he murmurs. I narrow my eyes on him as bile rises in my throat when the pad of his finger strokes my cheek and down my neck. “All of you.”
My heart races, my fight-or-flight instinct kicking in even though I can’t run away. I’m trapped—at his mercy—but when his finger traces my lips, I open, biting down as hard as I can and not letting go. Did he not learn that from the last time?
I hear Dean’s laugh and Kim’s gasp, but it doesn’t matter what comes next because I’m not the same scared girl I was when he controlled my every movement. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.
“Fuck!” he screams, yanking his finger from my mouth, and when I feel the wetness of his blood, I let it drip down my chin and smile wide.
“Don’t touch me ever again.”
His eyes burn with rage, so much more than I’ve ever seen before. His hand lifts, but I don’t flinch because I know what’s coming as I prepare for the blow.
My head whips to the side as his fist connects with my eye, but I don’t make a sound before looking back at him and raising my brow.
“You’re out of practice,” I goad.
He jerks forward but stops when a hand lands on his shoulder.
“You’ll get your turn, old man. This is my game, now step back and let me play it so you can win your toy.”
My dad looks at Dean, his eyes flaring at being told what to do. Dean must see something in his eyes because he points the gun at his head and tilts his head at me. There’s a beat where I think my dad won’t do as he says, but he finally moves, only he stops behind me. His hips meeting my shoulders and causing bile to rise in my throat.
“Just wait until I get you back to the house,” he murmurs, only loud enough for me to hear. “This time I’ll have you all to myself.” My muscles tense as his grating words float around me. “I have more patience than most, something you should know well.” His breath flows over my face as he leans down closer to me. “Jonah never did have any which was why I’d never let him have control over you.” His nose runs along my neck. “I made sure to hand him over to the authorities after he lost his way.” He pauses. “He didn’t deserve you.”
My eyes widen at his words, trying to decipher his meaning, and when he moves away from me I want to look back and turn around, so I know what’s coming, but I can’t. I can’t see if he’s about to do anything and that has my pulse racing and my heart about to explode with the reality of the situation as I look at Kim.
“It’s okay,” she reassures. “He’ll keep us safe… he always keeps us safe.”
I know she’s talking about Luke, but I can’t help the gut feeling I have that my life will never be the same after today.
How many times has Luke told me to listen to my gut? Too many times to count. And I know something bad will happen today, but I’ll do all I can to make sure me and Kim make it out of here.
“Time to move this along,” Dean announces before crouching down between us and pulling his cell out. His grin widens as he clicks the speaker button, the ringing echoing throughout the vast, empty space.
LUKE
I scrub my hands down my face as I look out the patio doors in Ty’s kitchen, the sun shining bright, birds chirping in the trees. My eyes burn with tiredness, but I can’t stop watching the peace outside.